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DISNEY IN BLU-RAY CAMP
Fox remains on the fence; other studios split
By Paul Sweeting 12/8/2004

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Dec. 8 | The Mouse has developed a taste for Blu-cheese.

Barely a week after Warner Home Video, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment announced their support for the HD DVD format, Buena Vista Home Entertainment rocked the industry Wednesday by lining up on the other side of the high-definition format war and backing Sony's Blu-ray Disc standard.

The announcement leaves Hollywood now split virtually down the middle between the two contending high-def standards: Warner, Universal and Paramount are going HD DVD; Sony, Disney and, presumably, MGM are going Blu-ray.

The only major studio yet to declare an allegiance is 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, which has a foot in both camps through its memberships in the Blu-ray Disc Assn. and the DVD Forum. But it has not committed to releasing product in either format.

Like the three studios supporting HD DVD, Disney's commitment to Blu-ray is non-exclusive.

"One of Disney's key priorities is to take advantage of new technologies to drive innovation and growth in order to create increased value for our shareholders," Disney exec VP and chief strategic officer Peter E. Murphy said. "We believe that Disney's portfolio of outstanding brands and content combined with the Blu-ray technology offers a major step forward for consumers eager to experience high-definition content."

Although Disney has long hinted at a preference for Blu-ray, the announcement is a blow to Warner and its HD DVD allies, who had hoped their own high-profile embrace of the Toshiba-developed standard would knock Blu-ray out of the game and avert a format war.

But with Disney now in its corner, the Sony-led Blu-ray camp is certain to forge ahead with it plans to launch the format in late 2005 or early 2006.

With HD DVD slated to hit stores around the same time, consumers could be faced with two incompatible formats, each offering titles not available on the other.

BVHE president Bob Chapek, however, rejected the notion that the Mouse's decision makes an all-out format war more likely.

"I think the chances for a format war are actually smaller today than they were yesterday," Chapek said. "I think this gives the two [hardware] sides more impetus to get together and work out a unified format. Up to now, the division has been hardware vs. software. But now that you have division between the studios, I think there's more reason than ever to come together."

Whether a unified format is even possible, however, is a matter of dispute.

Blu-ray discs are slightly thicker than HD DVD discs, making physical convergence difficult. The two formats also use different methods to read data off the discs.

At stake for both sides is potentially billions of dollars in patent licensing fees, making each side reluctant to give up its proprietary technology for format peace.

In the meantime, Chapek said, Disney chose to go with what it regards as the superior technology.

"At the end of the day, the consumer has to be happy with this thing," he said. "We think Blu-ray offers a more enhanced entertainment experience. If there isn't a unified standard, and you believe that the best format will win, then you have to go with the most capable format."

In addition to offering greater storage capacity on a single disc, Blu-ray developers agreed to incorporate an "applications" layer into the format, allowing the studios to add interactive features to their high-def discs.

"Sony was much more receptive to our requirement of greater interactivity," Chapek said. "I think we need to offer consumers as much of a leap over the current technology as DVD was over VHS, not just a better picture."

He also cited Blu-ray's greater support among hardware makers, which he said would help build the installed base of Blu-ray players more rapidly than the HD DVD base.

"The larger the installed base, the bigger the market for us," he said.

Chapek said Disney did not receive any payment or other monetary inducement to side with Blu-ray.

"I know there have been rumors out there about that kind of thing, but it just didn't happen," he said.

Buena Vista's initial release plans for Blu-ray call for a mix of catalog titles and "selected" new releases, Chapek said.

Not likely to appear quickly on Blu-ray however, are any of Disney's animated classics.

"Those are the crown jewels. You won't see them until there's enough of a base of players out there to maximize those assets," Chapek said. "What you'll see in the beginning are titles that are likely to appeal to early adopters."

As for the timing, "We plan to be there when the hardware is," Chapek said. "That could be late 2005 or 2006. The way things look right now, 2006 is probably a more realistic target."

http://www.videobusiness.com/article...1&catType=NEWS

You do need to register as a dealer of some kind.

I am really hoping we avoid a format war, but after everything I've read, if I have to choose, I will choose Blu-Ray.

TomOpus

Well, this is sure a shot in the arm for Blu-Ray

tanman

Actually I am hoping for a format war so they both fail and it will end up like SACD DVD audio with no clear winner and I will happily live in peace without feeling a need to upgrade.

But that is a strong contender for Sony although since it is non exclusive I have no idea how much this statement is worth. Just a vote of confidence really.

Kumar J

This is going to get UGLY!

jaeufraser

Yeah this'll be amusing. I just won't use this new tech until the dust clears or someone gives me a free player and movies.

darkside

Guess it will be years before I buy a new HD player.

LorenzoL

I too feel the same way.

steebo777

Well this entire format war sucks. It's just going to end up hurting us. I don't know about most of you, but I'd rather have a larger capactiy on each disc (less discs for boxsets) with better video specs (720p at least) and a possibility for full bitrate DTS. I hope this doesn't end up like SACD/DVD-A. Those are such vast imporovements upon normal CDs, and in the end it's just a niche market instead of a standard massive market. This just bums me out. My $0.02 and rant are done.

woofman

Hopefully a format war, if it happens at all, will be quick and painless. The sooner the dust settles, the sooner we have HD in our HT.

bunts

Damn it. These guys will never let us enjoy a movie in peace. I'm sure to keep to keep my hard-earned dollars in pocket unless they can convince me which one to buy. By the way armed with an upcoverting DVD player who wants to buy a new DVD player and re-buy all the DVDs (200 and counting) in High Definition??

A Questions for all you HD waiters: I'm seriously thinking of stoping buying DVDs and saving money in a bank account so that I could utimately buy them in HD. What do you think?

steebo777

Even with an up-converting DVD player, the DVD itself is only formatted in 480p (even if it was mastered at 1080i or higher). Thus, you will notice a difference with an HD DVD player over an up-converting DVD player.

LorenzoL

Unfortunately, I don't think this will be quick and painless since Sony, having already lost earlier with the Betamax format, will do anything it can to succeed with the Blu-Ray.

It will suck to go back to choose the format of the HD players based on the movies that you want. More reasons for people to stay with their regular DVD players until the dust settles.

Mike Lowrey

I don't know, I was still buying VHS 3 years into the DVD format. However, not many. I think the only titles I bought past '98 were SPR and FH's Dune mini-series.

philo

I like following this story and am curious to see how it will play out even though it'll probably be awhile before I can even afford an HD set. I just hope it doesn't hurt the release of titles on DVD especially older titles as everyone begins to look ahead to the new formats.

Class316

Here we go. Just like DVD+R and DVD-R, or SACD and DVDA.

Format wars get nowhere.

Iron_Giant

It looks like I will not have a HD "DVD" player to go with my HDTV until 2007. Sad, but it is all about money, not making the consumer happy.

Blue gets my vote.

fuzzbox

Add one more to the "I'm not buying anything until they settle on one format" list.

(but then again, I didn't buy a DVD player until my LD player finally died.)

-jason

sracer

Here are my reasons for continuing to collect DVDs:

• Start date for HD-DVD is still undetermined. We don't know if it will be 1 month, 6 months, or 6 years before a single HD standard is agreed upon. Those of us may still remember the HDTV standards war that went on during the 80's. And once a standard is selected, it will take time for companies to ramp up and obtain the necessary manufacturing capacity for players and disc duplication.
  
• Disc prices. DVDs are cheaper than ever. When HD discs are released they will most certainly be higher. Maybe not as high as DVDs were when they first came out, but still more expensive.
  
• Disc quality. Except for films released in the last 4 years or so, don't expect the first batch of HD discs to be fully exploitive of the new format. We don't know what kind of masters they have, what kind of care they'll take in the transfer, etc. Don't be surprised to find HD discs that look like the first release of Highlander.
  
• Disc content. Except for films recently released, extras and commentaries may not be carried over to the new format. Copyrights and such may prevent extras from older films from being made available on the new format. Just like many LaserDisc extras weren't.
  
• The Waiting Game. How long has it been since the introduction of the DVD format until highly anticipated titles were made available? 5,6, 7 years? Even with an aggressive release schedule, it will take companies years to re-release everything they currently have.
  
• The Early Adopter Premium. Whenever you jump on new technology, you pay a premium. Players are more expensive, content is more expensive. Those "disc" dollars aren't going to go as far.... Obviously, the longer you wait the cheaper things get, but there's a "sweet spot" where there's a balance between waiting and price. Factor any additional wait time, into the equation.

For me it boils down to what is important. And what is important for me is having films and TV shows that have a special significance to me in their original color, audio, aspect ratio, and content on a durable media. A personal digital archive. Video quality is important, but it isn't the overriding factor. DVD provides quality that meets my expectations. It will be "content" that drives my move to HD-DVD.

But I understand that there are "gearheads" in every hobby... those who need the hottest cars, the fastest PCs, largest HT screens, etc. Even though I'm not one myself, I appreciate the importance they play in getting new technology off the ground and on the way to affordability.

jessebo

I guess the company who comes up with a player that will play both formats will sell the most players.

LorenzoL

Is this even possible???

JLB

I totally agree with sracer.

I know for a fact that I will not replace my whole collection (assuming everything I own gets re-released on HD/Blu-Ray). At best, I would probably only re-buy some of my favorites, such as Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, etc.......I would probably just end up picking and choosing specific new titles going forward ........

In addition, let's say it's Sony/Disney in the Blu-ray camp and everyone else in HD-DVD and we have two formats coming out. Now, having worked part time in a high-end hometheater store, I can see how good HD looks for all kinds of movies. But for me, the HD advantage for animation/computer generated animation just isn't enough.

If I wanted to get a new player, and I had to choose between two formats, I would probably choose HD-DVD since more of what I truly love is in that format. I can't see double-dipping for Disney titles. I didn't even do it for titles like Mulan SE.

Now, that being said, there may be a lot of consumers out there that won't necessarily what to do and they may say, oh boy, I need to get the format that I can play my children's discs on, without knowing the full repurcussions of that decision.

And what about the differences between the two formats.....doesn't HD-DVD have more to offer in terms of space due to the way the format was spec'ed (I don't remember).

1-2-3-4 we want a format war.......I think this is just what is going to happen. I would hope it gets resolved, but my worry is that it won't and we will all end up losing in the long run.


EDIT: I think I goofed.....Isn't Blur Ray considered the "better" format, at least here on this forum? If so, then here, here Disney. LEt's get everyone on board......

RichardW

sracer, well said. I agree completely.

By the time a true HD format comes, I know I won't rebuy my entire collection. I get HBO and the major networks in HD, so I know what to expect. With 450+ titles, it's unlikely I'll replace even 25% of my collection with HD versions. I'll just rebuy my favorites.

Class316

If it were about making the consumer happy they would not put all sorts of protections. And they wouldn't censor stuff.

As for what's better, I don't think either is really better, just different with their own pros and cons. Like DVD+R and DVD-R.

Michael Corvin

that is what I was thinking. If they don't clear this up they will have two lingering formats that only the audio/videophiles will buy.

[QUOTE=jlbJ
In addition, let's say it's Sony/Disney in the Blu-ray camp and everyone else in HD-DVD and we have two formats coming out. Now, having worked part time in a high-end hometheater store, I can see how good HD looks for all kinds of movies. But for me, the HD advantage for animation/computer generated animation just isn't enough.[/QUOTE]

I agree that the picture quality isn't going to drastically improve for the catalog Disney titles. But you neglet to think about a half dozen of Disney's more recent films that will look incredible on the new format. Pixar titles. The average consumer/parent will not know this, nor will they care. If they see that only one format will have Disney movies, they will go with that one. I think Blu-ray having Disney definitely gives them the edge, especially when you factor in the average consumer.

Michael Corvin

But aren't the only major pros and cons to DVD+/-R, player compatibility? Which would be the problem here.

^--- and what the hell is up with my quote tags above. Stupid new forum.